


Toska

by onearmedmechanic



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Estranged Relationships, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Separation, but it gets better, its real sad there for a minute, these boys need to learn how to deal with their feelings, they have to get worse before they can get better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 12:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18344048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onearmedmechanic/pseuds/onearmedmechanic
Summary: At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases, it may be the desire for somebody or something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness





	Toska

**Author's Note:**

> based on this beautiful drawing by Kaciart   
> http://kaciart.tumblr.com/post/164419126658

It had been a little over a year since the last time Gladio had heard from Prompto. In fact, it had also been a few weeks since he’d even seen Ignis at all. 

After Noct disappeared, and the world descended into darkness, they stuck together as best they could for the first few years and the three of them did what they could to help keep the daemons at bay, unfortunately, that also meant they had to go their own separate ways. 

Ignis was holed up in the Leville trying to keep Lestallum afloat and help the survivors, putting his mother henning to good use looking after wounded refugees. 

Prompto went to Hammerhead to help out Cindy and Cid. 

But Gladio just wandered.

Killing daemons as he pleased, taking jobs and dropping off groups of survivors at the Leville for Ignis to take care of. 

He stopped in occasionally to check in Iris and Ignis or maybe just to get a little looking after of his own that usually consisted of a rare potion if he really needed one and a bed to sleep in before he was back off hunting down the hellspawns that prowled the night. 

But after Prompto had landed in Hammerhead… they had just lost contact. Gladio had been there to see him off. And he promised to drop in when he was in the area but it had just never happened. They’d played phone tag a few times before Gladio just stopped answering and eventually, Prompto stopped calling. 

So thats why when he looked down at his phone after taking out a mangy pack of Coerls he was shocked to see a string of missed calls from Prompto. 

He thumbed the call back button but he gets sent to voicemail. Prompto still hasn’t changed his voice mail. “ _ Prompto’s phone! Sorry I missed your call! Just leave your name at the beep and i’ll get back to you as soon as I can!” _

Despite all of the shit they’d been put thought after the last two years, the sound of Prompto’s voicemail still made him smile. He remembered getting so angry at the kid when he didn’t answer his phone back when they’d started this whole road trip through hell. Back when they were all together. Back when the world wasn’t a useless shitpile of daemons and darkness. Back when Noctis was still here. 

Gladio heard the beep almost without realizing what it was and cleared his throat. It had been a few days since he’d spoken at all so his vocal cords were a little rusty. 

“Hey Prom. Its Gladio. Saw that I missed your call. Uh… call me back kid. It’s been a while since I’ve heard from ya.” Gladio said in his regular grumbly tone and hung up. 

He was making his way back to his truck when his phone rang and he looked at it, expecting to see Prompto’s caller ID pop up. But instead, it was Cindy. 

“Hey.” He answered, not in the mood to talk to the sassy blonde. 

“You might want to get your shield butt over to Hammerhead big guy, Blondie’s gone missin’.”

“What?” Gladio’s blood ran cold. 

“Yeah, went out for a hunt last night and didn’t come back. I managed to get a hold of him for a second there but I can’t get any response.” 

“I’m on my way.” Gladio almost hung up before putting the phone back up to his ear. “Have you called Ignis?” 

“Not yet. Figured I’d try you first.” 

“I’m on the other end of Duscae. He’ll probably get to you first but I’m on my way.” This time Gladio did hang up, before dialing Ignis. 

“Ah, Gladiolus. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Came Ignis’ response after only a few rings. 

“You need to get to Hammerhead. It's Prompto. Somethin’ happened. I just got a call from Cindy.” 

“Are you quite sure?” Ignis asked though it sounded like he was already up and moving for his keys. 

“Yeah, Cindy said he went on a hunt last night and hasn’t come back yet.” 

“He went on a hunt alone?” Gladio could hear Ignis’ frown. 

“We can lecture him later. Let's just make sure the kid is in one piece.” Gladio grumbled, his heart was still beating too hard for his liking and he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “I’m on my way to Hammerhead but it’s gonna take me a few hours to get across Duscae.” 

“Be careful Gladio. We’ve lost enough people already.” Ignis’ voice softened, it had that sad edge that the two of them got when they let their minds wander to… him. 

He was literally the only thing that gave his life any meaning. It was his only purpose. Take care of Noctis. Keep him alive. Make sure he becomes a good king. And now he’s just gone. And Gladio is just  _ empty _ . 

“I’ll be careful. Meet you in Hammerhead.” 

“I love you Gladio.” 

“I love you too Iggy.” 

Gladio hung up, starting the engine. 

~ 

He arrived in Hammerhead a little after 3 am. Iggy’s car was parked outside of the garage and Gladio pulled in next to him. 

Ignis was in the diner when he opened the door, a cup of coffee sitting on the counter in front of him as he talked with Cindy. 

“Which direction did he go in?” Gladio ground out, eyes tired from lack of sleep. He’d been tracking that Coerl pack for at least four hours before he found them, plus the fight and then a three-hour drive across Duscae at a breakneck speed in the dark. 

“Hold your horses there, Gladio.” Cindy held up a hand. “We don’t need both of you goin’ missing. You need some rest before you go charging off into oblivion.” 

“Like hell, Cindy. He’s been out there for almost 48 hours. He could be hurt or  _ worse _ .” 

“Oh look who suddenly decided to care.” Cindy snorted. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Gladio snarled. 

“Gladio...” Ignis warned. 

“You haven’t even talked to him in over a year!” Cindy ground out. “He talks about the two of you every single day and I bet you haven't spared a thought about him in at least a year! And guess who's gotta watch his heart break every time you don’t pick up your phone?” Cindy was furious, her fists clenched at her sides.

“You two weren’t the only ones that loved Noctis.” Cindy spat. 

“Shut your mouth Aurum.” Gladio growled, getting properly angry.

“Prompto lost just as much as you did. And when he needed you the most you ran away.” She turned her head to look at Ignis. “Both of you.” 

Gladio opened his mouth to growl something at her when Cindy’s phone rang and she answered it. 

“You found him?” She said, her shoulders dropping, losing all of the tension. 

Gladio held out his hand for the phone. Cindy held up one finger but eventually passed the phone over.

“Put him on the phone.” 

“I can’t.” A gruff voice answered a voice Gladio hadn’t heard in years. 

“What? Why?” Gladio’s blood turned to ice in his veins. 

“He’s unconscious, Gladio.” Cor grumbled, Gladio never through he would be so relieved to hear the word unconscious 

“Where are you?” 

“About 20 minutes outside of Hammerhead. I’ve got the kid in my backseat.” 

“What direction? I can meet you-” 

“Gladiolus. You’re gonna stay right where you are.” Cor growled and suddenly Gladio was twelve years old again, standing in front of the Marshall, being scolded for letting Noctis wander off. 

“ETA in 20 minutes. Don’t go anywhere.” Cor hung up the phone. Gladio handed it back to Cindy, taking a seat next to Ignis. 

~

The minute Gladio heard the crunch of tires on the driveway he was out the door, Cindy and Ignis following close behind him. 

Cor pulled his truck in beside Gladio's shutting off the engine and get out. 

The minute Gladio saw that head of tousled blond hair he was at Cor’s side, holding his arms out to take the skinny bloodstained bundle. 

“How does this happen Gladio?” Cor grumbled, a disapproving frown darkening his features under the harsh light of the massive industrial floodlights affixed to the roof of the garage. 

“He-he stayed in Hammerhead…” Gladio answered. Feeling small and young, shocked down to his bones at the sight of Prompto. 

He was about 25 now but he looked so much younger. Beaten and broken. A shell of the bubbly cheerful young man he knew all those years ago. 

Cor passed the blond over into Gladio’s waiting arms. 

He noticed the change immediately. Prompto had never been particularly bulky but he had still lost a considerable amount of weight in the year they had been apart. 

He was pale, and most of his freckles had faded away due to the years they'd spent in darkness. 

His hair was long and most of it had been pulled back into a fluffy little ponytail, still leaving his Chocobo fluff at the top and his little bangs that framed his face. 

Gladio was so preoccupied with the gaunt sight of the little blond that he almost didn't notice the dark ink staining his forearms. Bands sprouting up from his wrists detailing the dark silhouette of a forest. And tiny silhouettes of three birds on his right arm. 

“He’s lost a lot of blood.” Ignis said, “We need to get him inside.” 

Gladio nodded carrying the blond back into the diner so that Ignis could work on patching up his wounds. 

And so began one of the longest nights of Gladio’s life. 

~ 

Ignis had finished patching Prompto’s wounds and cataloging the additional scars he had accumulated in their year apart. There was one in particular that Gladio had been unable to look away from. 

It was about five inches long, spanning the length of his flat stomach diagonally. It would have been enough to disembowel a better man but Cindy had told them that after dragging himself home from an altercation with a sabreclaw he had stitched it up himself - insisting that the potions needed to be saved for more pressing injuries - and proceeded to pass out for eighteen hours. 

Gladio remembered running the tips of his fingers over Prompto’s flat stomach, making him tremble under the attention. It had been pristine, marred by only a few silvery slivers of his stretch marks and now it was going to be permanently marked. 

The scars and tattoos that now covered the little blond’s body certainly were attractive and far more grown-up than the barely legal young man who had embarked on this journey. 

“Don’t give me that shit,” Gladio grumbled at Cor over a cup of coffee. They were sitting in the diner during the aftermath. Ignis had gone to watch over Prompto and Cindy went to tend to the floodlights, leaving Cor and Gladio alone in the diner and Cor was proceeding to glare angrily down at his mug of coffee, shifting his gaze up to Gladio every once in a while and muttering something indiscernible under his breath. 

“Excuse me?” Cor grumbled looking up at Gladio. 

“I’m not some recruit anymore Cor. And i hate to break it to you but you’re not the Marshall anymore.” Gladio snapped, regretting the words the moment they were out of his mouth. 

“Prompto’s an adult. He knows how to take care of himself.” Gladio turned his gaze away from the Marshall. 

“That doesn't excuse the fact that this should have never happened in the first place,” Cor growled. “You three  _ never  _ should have split up when it got hard. You were supposed to stick together.” 

“That's pretty rich coming from you.” Gladio grumbled in response. “If he wanted to come join us he could have called. He knew where we were.” 

“He knew where Ignis was.” Cor countered. “You went AWOL after Noctis disappeared.” Gladio slammed his cup down on the counter so hard it shattered, the last few dregs of coffee spilling over the shattered ceramic. 

“Don't say his name.” Gladio snarled. 

“Gentlemen…” Ignis voice broke the tension to a degree as he appeared in the doorway. “This is neither the time nor the place for this discussion. Prompto is resting. He needs to sleep.” 

“How is he?” Gladio asked, unable to quench his worry for the gunner. 

“A little banged up but he should wake up in a few hours.” Ignis sighed, lifting his glasses so he could pinch the bridge of his nose. 

“Gladio may I speak to you for a moment?” 

“Sure Iggy.” Gladio nodded, turning away from Cor and following Ignis out of the diner. 

Gladio was surprised when Ignis wrapped his arms around Gladio’s torso. 

“How did we let this happen?” Ignis’ voice was muffled both by tears and by Gladio's tank top. 

“I dunno Iggy.” Gladio lied, wrapping his arms around the former advisor's shoulder. 

“We never should have left him alone for this long.” Ignis let out a sigh, sounding more tired than he had in years. Gladio knew the feeling well. It was a bone-deep ache, an exhaustion that couldn’t be cured with coffee or a good night's rest. It was a loss, a hopelessness. 

And Gladio just tightened his arms around Ignis, knowing he could never have protected him from  _ this.  _

~ 

When Prompto woke, it was with a start. His eyes flew open because the last thing he remembered were imps, circling him. Blood and rain were running into his eyes so he couldn’t see them. 

He didn’t remember finding a tiny crevice in some rocks that was the perfect size for him and he didn’t remember calling anyone. So when he woke up, safe and warm in his bed it was quite a shock. 

Upon realizing this, he laid back down against this pillow, closing his eyes in the rare darkness. It wasn’t usually dark in his room, because the floodlights surrounding Hammerhead were usually bright enough to pierce through his blackout curtains. 

The floodlights. 

Prompto sat up in a bolt, ignoring the glance of pain that shot through him as he threw the covers aside and got out of bed. 

The hallway from his bedroom was empty and dark as he hurried towards the kitchen where he could hear muted conversation. 

He pushed the door open to the kitchen with a shout, “Cindy! Cindy why are the floodlights-” his words died in his throat at the sight that stood before him. 

If he were anywhere else in the world, he would have burst into tears. 

Gladio and Ignis were standing there, well sitting. Ignis was pouring Gladio a cup of coffee like some sick vision of times gone by. 

“Ah, Prompto. I’m glad you’re awake.” Ignis said a little awkwardly as he finished pouring and put the coffee pot aside. 

“What- what are you doing here?” Prompto asked breathlessly. It was a fight to keep the tears away. He hadn’t seen them in so long. He through maybe they’d forgotten about him. 

“Is that any way to greet your old friends?” Gladio chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I-... I… what are you doing here?” Prompto asked again, shocked down to his core. 

“Cindy called us and informed us that you’d had an accident on a hunt. We came as soon as we could.” Ignis offered him a smile. 

“Oh…” Prompto nodded. “I uh, I need to go find Cindy.” Prompto turned and started heading for the garage. 

“I thought maybe you’d be happy to see us?” Gladio said with a pointed edge to his voice. 

“I am. I’m very happy to see you.” Prompto turned, his voice was still a shocked deadpan, he was terrified that if he showed any emotion right now he may never be able to reign it back in and then he would just be an empty tearful shell his whole life and - nope. It was coming out. 

Prompto bit his lip to try and hold it off but it was no use as tears spilled from his eyes. 

“Prompto?” Ignis made a move towards him and Prompto cracked. 

“Why couldn’t you answer your phone?” He shouted, heartbreak plain in his voice. “Why? Why did it take me nearly getting  _ killed  _ for us to see eachother again. Do you know how much I missed you? How much it hurt? I-i think about you both every single day. I know you both loved Noctis… more than i had any right to. But he was my best friend.” Prompto looked up through his tears. 

“You were the only people who understood what I was going through. Because we all had to go through it together. I thought maybe… maybe we had something special. But after Noct… after you stopped calling, maybe I was only ever special to Noctis.” 

Gladio stood up so fast his chair screeched against the floor. Prompto looked up at him as he approached the blond who was shaking with the force of his tears. 

Prompto didn’t know what he expected… but he was in no way prepared for when Gladio wrapped his arms around Prompto and pulled him into a hug. 

Prompto was still for a moment, silent, unmoving and then he was shaking apart, sobbing into Gladio’s shirt gripping the fabric like it was a lifeline.

Ignis joined them, pressing against Prompto’s back and wrapping his arms around Gladio. 

“I'm sorry Chocobo.” Gladio rumbled. “You are special to us. I never meant to hurt you. Either of you. I-” Gladio stopped. The pressure that had been building for five years was finally coming out. 

Prompto looked up at him, his beautiful blue-violet eyes red-rimmed and puffy and the sight of him, pale and thin, hurt Gladio beyond words. 

He looked up at Ignis, scars crossing his face, whiting out his left eye completely, leaving him half-blind. A constant reminder of the price he paid for Noct’s life. 

Gladio just held them tighter, burying his face in Prompto’s beautiful blond hair as the tears streamed down his face. Tears he’d been holding in since he lost everything. And he only realized that he’d been holding it all in when he nearly lost it again. 

But as the three of them stood there, embraced in each other's arms, Gladio knew that they were going to be okay. 

They were going to get through this. 

  
  



End file.
